Cellular Respiration

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Explain to me in layman's terms cellular respiration and glycosis. The teacher is not doing a very good job and I can't figure out the concept from the book. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Nancy

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Are you familiar with the equation for Cellular Respiration? Oxygen + Glucose ---------> Carbon Dioxide + Water + ATP?

Basically, CR is the way that our body creates energy from the two sources of O2 and Glucose. We use oxygen and glucose, and our body turns it into ATP (which is energy) and the two other products are "waste" which are carbon dioxide and water.

Glycosis is basically the FIRST stage of the process of Cellular Respiration, and is then followed by the next two stages which are the Kreb's Cycle and the electron transport chain.

Is this grade 11 Biology? That is when I learned that stuff, and I'd have to go back and read through my notes to help you.

Maybe if what I posted isn't the answer you're looking for, you can ask more specifically to break it down. :)

Hope that helped!

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Specializes in Maternity.

Is this grade 11 Biology?

My money is on Anatomy :wink2:

Good Luck!!!:up:

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lol Taking it in Microbiology right now, and when I figure it out Ill get back to you.. (dont hold your breath!) :banghead::chuckle

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

To expand on CuriousStudent1108's reply a bit:

The expanded overall equation for cellular respiration is C6H12O6 (aq) + 6O2 (g) 6H2O (l) → 6CO2 (g) + 12H2O (l) + 36 ATP, although in lower-level programs where the exact steps of each of the three phases of Cellular Respiration are not required to be learned, the simplified equation given by Curious Student1108 is often used. In any case, it should be obvious from the equation that glucose and oxygen go in while carbon dioxide, water, and the cell's energy currency come out. As often happens in metabolic pathways, the maximum potential output is rarely reached, and as such one generally sees half the maximum possible ATP output from any given cell.

Glycolysis is the first series of steps in cellular respiration. It consists of breaking the 6-carbon glucose molecule into two 3-molecule pyruvate molecules. You get a few ATP and reduce NAD to NADH. Glycolysis occurs in the cell cytoplasm. All organisms (except possibly a few obligate cellular parasites/symbiotes, but then there's usually an exception to every rule in biology) can and do perform glycolysis on their own.

Pyruvate is required for the start of the Citric Acid Cycle (TCA Cycle), aka the Krebs Cycle. The Citric Acid Cycle is the part of the process where most of the NADH and FADH are generated, along with a couple GTPs, some ATPs, and lots of carbon dioxide. This takes place in the Matrix of the Mitochondria of Eukaryotic cells, as well as inside Purple Sulfur Bacteria. The Matrix is the area inside both membranes of a Mitochondrion.

The Electron Transport Chain is located in the inner membrane of the Mitochondrion and uses various proteins and other molecules to create a proton gradient across the membrane, generating water from oxygen in the process. The proton gradient is then used by ATP Synthase (ATPase for short) to generate the majority of the ATP that comes from cellular respiration.

Some cells do not posess a full Citric Acid Cycle and so must regenerate the NAD used in the creation of NADH in glycolysis. These cells must use Fermentation to do this, which has two possible end products. Some non-eukaryotes, and most Eukaryotic cells in anaerobic conditions, do this by generating Lactic Acid. Some yeasts and other non-eukaryotes do this by generating ethanol - including notably S. cerevisciae.

As CuriousStudent1108 said, this should have been covered in high school biology, especially since the basics of cellular respiration have been known for a while. No matter what level you take it at, from 8th grade (when I first saw the simplified equation) to Biochemistry (the last time I saw it in class), you're going to have to do a lot of memorization in order to get a handle on the process, and there's no way around it. Most instructors will want the general equation known, intermediate-level instructors will want you to know the general equation of each of the four possible phases of cellular respiration, and higher-level course instructors will want you to know all the changes the carbon backbone undergoes, as well as most of the notable enzymes active in the process.

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,

As CuriousStudent1108 said, this should have been covered in high school biology, especially since the basics of cellular respiration have been known for a while.

Don't know if TheSquire and CuriousStudent1108 noted the OP's age but she's 35 years old. Its been quite sometime since she's been in 11th grade biology. Give the lady a break, I bet you don't remember every little detail of things you learned in school over 13 years ago. Especially things that maybe at the time didn't hold your interest :) I see that TheSquire is 24 yrs old, and from CuriousStudents comment about "Is this grade 11 Biology? That is when I learned that stuff, and I'd have to go back and read through my notes to help you." that he/she is also young, if she learned it in 11th grade and still has his/her notes to go back and look at. :D

I learned cellular resp in my A&P also. Very well could have learned it in high school bio too, really couldn't tell you. I don't remember. I do remember taking it in College Bio but I really didn't understand the exacts of it then. I still don't get the exacts but I do understand the concept and why its needed/important to the life of the cell and the human body.

My best suggestion would be to google it and see if you come on a site that might explain it better than the instructor is. I know during school, google was my best friend when it came to things I didn't quite grasp. Almost every time, I found a site that would have a visual or audio that would help me wrap my mind around it.

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Thank you CT Pixie! Yes, I took Bio in high school in 9th grade (1988) to be exact, so over 20 years ago. I also took Bio in college in 1991 and the structure of bio 120 has changed dramatically since then. The teacher I have for A&P is known to be a high level instructor and is huge on concepts and not just definitions. I appreciate the elaborate explainations by you guys. I am taking this online, working full time and home alone at nights with my kids. So I can use all the help I can get and everyone's different perspectives.

Thanks!

Nancy

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Oh dear -

I didn't mean ANY offence at ALL, and didn't realize it could be looked at that way.

First off, I am 32 years old, mother of 3, and have been doing upgrading in Biology and Math to make prereqs for a nursing program here. The only reason I asked whether this was grade 11 biology was because I did it last semester! I am very familiar with glycolysis because of that, and have my notes available to refer to.

The problem with this stuff is it is NOT "layman" friendly. You just have to memorize the steps until you can recite them - since this is at the molecular level it isn't really something we can identify with. My teacher was pretty good at drawing a bit of a diagram for each of the three phases of CR, and I just redrew those - unfortunately I don't know how I would post something like what I drew here on Allnurses. I know I began by drawing 6 little circles that were my carbon molecules, and I used different colors pens to add or remove little peices as the processes went on - I had a the written version beside the "pictoral" version. It really is just memorization... and it sucks. But yes, you're going to refer to your understanding as the foundation of what you go on to learn, so it MUST be done.

Anyhow, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I'm an old dog coming back to learn some new tricks... ;) Good for you for doing it too!! We might be older students, and it may take us a while to "catch on" to this stuff, but once we get it, we'll be GREAT nurses. :)

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Sorry Curious, I was reading that you were being a bit sarcastic with the "is this grade 11 bio". I apologize. I tend to get a bit testy when people say things like "this is grade XXX stuff, you should know it" because people tend to forget there are older students (older than the traditional student) who learned "grade XXX stuff many, many...many years ago and the info isn't as fresh as it is in the late teen/early 20 years. Geesh, thinking about it, when I was in computer classes in high school my senior class was the first to have computer classes available, we had data terminals with programs we had to program and the darn hard drives were as big as the whole room, there was no such thing as the internet, cell phones, and microwaves weren't too common and they too were huge!!..much different than it is now.

Anyway I digress, Yes, we "older" students need to stick together and we will and do make great nurses. And please accept my apology for jumping on you.

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That's okay - my fear was actually that this would be a university level bio class and my piddly little attempt at response would be very lame and elementary... :chuckle

But I feel her pain - I found the unit on molecular biology last semester to be my LEAST favorite of them - but it is doable - I ended that unit, and the course, with an A.

Index cards, and rewriting the notes and explanations were what really helped me. For whatever that's worth.

I'm loving Bio 30 so far. :)

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Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

I'm on that right now in my Bio 105 class. Its a pre-req for A&P. I guess I'm happy I'm reviewing it now before Micro or anything like that. I'm going to be putting some of these into my notes now.

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Thank you both. Yes, molecular stuff is a PIA! We will make great nurses, we just need to get there. I will try writing it all out. I don't have the option of different colors on the test, but I know she will make that one of the essay questions. I am good at memorizing which is why I can do good in anatomy, but not physiology, which is concepts. You can know the parts, but if you can't explain how they work together, you are lost!! Thank you for your apology, thank you for your insight, I will try the tricks listed.

Nancy

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